CN118063670A

CN118063670A - Solvent-free formulations and nanocomposites

Info

Publication number: CN118063670A
Application number: CN202410189601.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 皮特·克里斯托弗·古谢尔; 詹姆斯·多尔金; 约瑟夫·托马斯·摩根斯特恩; 罗伯特·斯威舍
Original assignee: Pixelligent Technologies LLC
Current assignee: Pixelligent Technologies LLC
Priority date: 2018-11-20
Filing date: 2019-11-20
Publication date: 2024-05-24
Also published as: JP7784302B2; KR20210080564A; KR20260021094A; CN113316609A; US20250230334A1; KR102925836B1; WO2020106884A1; US20220002574A1; CN113316609B; EP3883994A4; JP2022507821A; EP3883994A1; JP2026041841A; US12286549B2

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a high refractive index acrylic formulation embedded with metal oxide nanocrystals below 30 nm. The formulation is solvent-free, low viscosity, inkjet-able (and other film deposition techniques), and produces a high refractive index, high transparency nanocomposite material for various optical applications, including OLED lighting and display applications.

Description

Solvent-free formulation and nanocomposite

Background

The solvent-free polymer nanocomposite formulations described herein exhibit low viscosity, high refractive index, and high optical transmittance in the visible spectrum. The materials of the present disclosure are readily coated on the surface of a desired substrate by common solution coating methods, such as by ink jet printing, spin coating, screen printing, dip coating, dispensing, roll-to-roll, slot die coating, bar coating, or spray coating for many electronic applications. The nanocomposite of the present disclosure is unique in providing a film or coating or layer of high refractive index and high transparency, which is desirable in electronic applications, such as Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) applications where these characteristics are important to performance. The thickness of the coatings described herein may range from tens of nanometers to millimeters, which may be necessary for a particular application.

OLEDs can be classified as bottom-emitting or top-emitting based on the direction of light output. Bottom-emitting OLEDs are used for large-sized panels such as televisions, and top-emitting OLEDs are used for small mobile applications. In top emission, the OLED device consists of a reflective layer, an ITO anode, a Hole Injection Layer (HIL), a Hole Transport Layer (HTL), an emissive layer (EML), an Electron Transport Layer (ETL), an Electron Injection Layer (EIL), a semitransparent metal cathode, and a capping layer over the thin film transistor structure. Light generated from the emission region passes through the translucent metal cathode. Only a small amount (about 25%) of the generated light can be extracted from the OLED device because the light can be trapped in the stack in waveguide and surface plasmon modes. In addition, some light is reflected back into the device through the thin film encapsulation layer due to the index mismatch between the thin film encapsulation layers. To obtain improved optical efficiency from this structure, a High Refractive Index (HRI) layer is required to eliminate waveguide notch modes between inorganic passivation layers or between thin film encapsulation layers and other layers. Waveguide notch modes can only be resolved by using an index-matched HRI layer. High refractive index, high transparency coatings having a refractive index of about 1.7 or higher as can be produced with the materials of the present disclosure significantly enhance the efficacy of OLED lighting and display devices comprising the coatings.

Inkjet printing is a critical process for manufacturing OLED devices, including depositing high reliability organic passivation and planarization layers. Inkjet printing is also more cost effective and supports vacuum-free processes. The ink jet printer can effectively deposit the desired ink formulation onto a variety of substrates, thereby demonstrating efficient material transfer with little waste. Furthermore, inkjet printing allows for rapid deposition of simple films of specific thickness or more complex patterns as required for a given application.

Formulation viscosity is one of the key parameters that determine the suitability for inkjet printing. For example, inkjet printing typically requires values of 5-20cP at 25 ℃. When heated using a printhead, higher viscosities are allowed. Depending on the heating capacity of the printhead, the viscosity at 25 ℃ may be as high as 100cP to reduce the viscosity to a range of 5-20cP at high temperatures around 60-100 ℃. By reducing the formulation viscosity to this narrow range, important monomer, oligomer and polymer selections must be made and nanoparticle weight loadings determined. A low viscosity matrix material with a sufficiently high refractive index allows for sufficient nanoparticle loading to achieve the desired final film refractive index. Finding monomers, oligomers and polymers with low viscosity and high refractive index is often a challenge, as these properties are often improved together.

In addition to formulation viscosity, the ink must also have a surface tension suitable for stable droplet ejection, as well as sufficient wettability on the desired substrate. Typical ranges of surface tension for inkjet printing are 20-35 dynes/cm, and depend on other fluid properties such as viscosity and density, as well as inkjet parameters such as drop volume and drop velocity. When an ink drop is ejected from a nozzle, a band or tail appears and contracts to form a spherical drop. If the belt is not shrunk fast enough or too long, small satellites may be formed and difficulty is presented to the printed film. Stable and consistent drop ejection without tail or satellite is important for optimal ejection performance and print uniformity. In addition, the ink should remain stable for a long period of time to improve manufacturability. Shelf life (time before use) should be several months, whereas pot life (time during use) and spray stability should cover a day or more.

Other deposition techniques, such as slot die coating or spin coating or knife coating or screen printing films, lens dispensing, and other techniques, may be used for the disclosed formulations described herein. High viscosity formulations with high loadings of nanoparticles and possibly high viscosity components (e.g., crosslinkers, oligomers, and polymers) and high refractive index values, as well as other physical properties, can be achieved. For these different deposition techniques, the relevant viscosity range may be 5-12,000cP or greater than 12,000cP.

Although solvent-free formulations are preferred for the formulations disclosed herein, small amounts of solvent may be allowed to maintain the lower viscosity typical of inkjet printing. According to the disclosed invention, the formulation may be "solvent-free" or "low solvent". The "solvent-free" formulation comprises less than 5 wt% solvent, or 0 wt% to 5 wt% solvent, preferably 0 wt% to 1wt% solvent, relative to the total formulation. The "low solvent" formulation comprises 5 to 20 wt% solvent relative to the total formulation.

Solvent-free formulations are most suitable for OLED applications because of the need to minimize the escape of organics from the cured layer. The escape of volatile organics can cause problems in the multilayer structure of the OLED display device, resulting in failure of the device over time during processing steps (e.g., indium tin oxide or ITO deposition) or device operation. Traditionally, solvent-containing materials have been used to deposit polymeric films by using solution processes such as ink jet printing, spin coating, screen printing, dip coating, dispensing, roll-to-roll, slot die coating, bar coating, or spray coating. Solvent-containing materials have also been used for electrical and optical components in electronic devices including OLEDs. But despite the heat treatment to eliminate the deposited solvent, these solvent-containing materials can negatively impact device performance and processing. One of the major degradation problems in organic devices is residual solvent in the coating film, which can reduce the efficiency and lifetime of the device. Solvent-free solution processable materials are being developed to alleviate this and other problems and eliminate expensive or time consuming processes such as vacuum chamber drying. In addition, solvent-free formulations will require fewer processing steps (pre-bake or post-bake) to cure the film before depositing the next layer in the device. Ideally, a solvent-free, UV curable formulation would achieve fast, simple film curing after deposition.

The index of refraction of the solventless formulation is designed to match or closely match the index of refraction of the adjacent layers. The nanocomposite layer preferably has a refractive index value of 1.6-2.0 to correspond to the refractive index (1.8-2.1) of inorganic layers such as ITO and silicon nitride at visible wavelengths. Nanocrystals of high refractive index inorganic oxides such as zirconia, titania, hafnia, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, and niobium oxide can reach values within this specified range. When synthesized to less than 40nm and capped with a suitable capping agent for dispersion, the capped metal oxide is dispersed in a suitable monomer, oligomer, and polymer at a weight loading of 35% to 90%, and a stable dispersion can be produced that can be made into films having refractive index values in the visible spectrum of 1.6 to 2.0. Inorganic oxides with lower refractive indices such as silica and germania will not reach values within the desired range or will require very high weight loadings to reach the final desired high refractive index values. The higher weight loading of nanoparticles typically results in very high viscosity, eliminating certain formulations for specific deposition processes (such as inkjet printing).

Nanocomposite formulations are intended for use as high refractive index materials or index matching materials in smart windows, sensors, CMOS sensors, LEDs, mini-LEDs, micro-LEDs, organic LEDs (OLEDs), quantum LEDs (QLEDs), touch screens, displays, flexible electronics, printed electronics, self-cleaning surfaces, augmented Reality (AR), mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR), waveguides, light extraction and 3D sensors. The transparency of the formulation and film is closely related to the size and distribution of the nanoparticles. By synthesizing and maintaining particle sizes of 40nm or less, the formulation and film can achieve high light transmittance (> 95%) in the visible spectrum. Particles larger than 40nm tend to scatter light disadvantageously, resulting in a decrease in the transmittance of the whole material. Such scattering problems can also be caused by aggregated particles if the dispersion is unstable over time. The particles in the unstable dispersion may not be properly capped with sufficient or correct capping agent by the desired organic matrix. In addition, having small particle size, narrow size distribution and no aggregates in the formulation allows for high nanocrystal loadings without significantly increasing viscosity, resulting in a high refractive index, high transparency, low viscosity formulation.

Finally, the high RI ink formulations invented for the purpose of inkjet printing must have stable jetting properties over long periods of time for high manufacturability applications. The components in the ink require a lower degree of volatility so that the viscosity of the residual material in the inkjet nozzle does not increase significantly. This can lead to nozzle clogging and print film defects such as streaks and pinholes. Inks with this problem require frequent use of printheads or frequent cleaning to prevent clogging. There is a need in the industry for transition periods where non-spraying occurs, which in extreme cases range from minutes to hours or even days.

Disclosure of Invention

The present disclosure provides solvent-free, low viscosity, high refractive index, UV curable formulations comprising capped metal oxide nanocrystals in an organic matrix with a curing agent. The formulation further comprises any one of the following components: wetting agents, antioxidants, tackifiers, leveling agents, dispersants, plasticizers, toughening agents, thickening agents, diluents, diffusing or softening agents, or organic dopants, or other functional additives. These formulations result in high refractive index, high transparency nanocomposites.

The present disclosure provides the following non-limiting numbered embodiments as further examples of the disclosed technology:

1. A formulation comprising a dispersion of at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals and a matrix comprising at least one of a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, and optionally further comprising a curing agent, surfactant, wetting agent, antioxidant, adhesion promoter, leveling agent, dispersing agent, plasticizer, toughening agent, thickener, diluent, diffusing or softening agent, or organic dopant, or other functional additive.

2. The formulation according to embodiment 1, wherein the matrix comprises one or more of acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers, reactive diluents, curing agents, and optionally, at least one surfactant or wetting agent.

3. The formulation of embodiments 1-2, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides.

4. The formulation according to any one of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the average particle size range of the at least partially capped nanocrystals is 1-30nm, preferably less than 20nm, as measured by DLS or TEM.

5. The formulation of embodiments 1-4, wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethyleneoxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethyleneoxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane and epoxypropoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrimethoxysilane, heptanol, hexanol, octanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, oleyl alcohol, dodecanol, stearyl alcohol and triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, octanoic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, 2- [2- (2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy ] acetic acid, oleic acid, benzoic acid, stearic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid, 2- (2-methoxyethoxy) acetic acid, methacrylic acid, mono-2- (methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate or any combination thereof.

6. The formulation of embodiments 1-5 comprising a weight loading of metal oxide nanocrystals that is from 20% to 80% by weight of the formulation.

7. The formulation of embodiments 1-6, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises monofunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers having a high refractive index, such as benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl (meth) acrylate (HPPA and HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylphenol methacrylate (PPMA), isobutyl acrylate (IBA), 2-phenylethylacrylate (2-PEA), 2-phenylthioethyl acrylate (PTEA), or a combination thereof.

8. The formulation according to embodiments 1-7, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises difunctional, trifunctional, tetrafunctional, and pentafunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers, such as 1, 6-hexanediol di (meth) acrylate (HDDA and HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) di (meth) acrylate (DEGDA and DEGDMA), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol alkyd diacrylate, tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated tri (meth) acrylate (EOTMPTA and EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxy diacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETA), and dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate/hexaacrylate (DPHA).

9. The formulation according to embodiments 1-8, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises a reactive diluent such as 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP), N-vinylcaprolactam, 2- (2-vinyloxyethoxy) ethyl (meth) acrylate, isobutyl acrylate, styrene (STY), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), 4-vinyl anisole (4 VA), and Divinylbenzene (DVB). For example, 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone was added to the formulations according to embodiments 1-8 to improve surface cure or tack. The weight percentage of reactive diluent relative to the total monomer content is from 10% to 80% by weight. The preferred weight percent of reactive diluent relative to the total monomer content is 25 wt.% to 70 wt.%.

10. The formulation according to embodiments 1-9, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises a difunctional, trifunctional, tetrafunctional thiol crosslinker, such as trimethylolpropane tris (3-mercaptopropionate).

11. The formulation of embodiments 1-10, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are AT least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises a sulfur-containing commercial resin and a binder, such as #18109, #18165, and #6205 (NTT-AT); and LumipluS LP-1100, LPB-1102, LPJ-1102 and LPS-1130 (Mitsubishi GAS CHEMICAL Company).

12. The formulation according to embodiments 1-11, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises a reactive organic dopant, such as phenanthrene (PhA) or 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb). The concentration of the organic dopant ranges from 1wt% to 50 wt%.

13. The formulation according to embodiments 1-12, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation further comprises a surfactant or combination of surfactants, such as polyether modified siloxanes, fluorosurfactants, which are non-reactive or reactive in the acrylate monomer system. The concentration of the surfactant in the total formulation ranges from 0.1 wt% to 2.0 wt%. The preferred concentration range of the surfactant is 0.5 wt.% to 1.0 wt.%.

14. The formulation according to embodiments 1-13, wherein the metal oxide nanocrystals are at least partially capped, and the formulation optionally further comprises scattering particles, such as titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide, and low and/or high refractive index polymer particles. The particle size of the scatterer ranges from 100 to 400nm. The concentration of the diffuser in the total formulation ranges from 0.1 wt% to 30.0 wt%. The preferred concentration range for the diffuser is 0.5wt% to 17.0 wt%.

15. The formulation according to embodiments 1-14, further comprising a curing agent or photoinitiator, such as Irgacure 184, irgacure 819, TPO, ebercryl P, 39, and Ebercryl P. The concentration of the photoinitiator in the total formulation ranges from 0.1 wt% to 20 wt% relative to the monomer content. The preferred concentration range of the photoinitiator relative to the monomer content is 1.0 wt.% to 4.0 wt.%.

16. The formulation according to one of embodiments 1 to 15, wherein the dispersion does not comprise benzyl (meth) acrylate (BMA) or trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA).

17. The formulation according to embodiments 1-16, wherein the formulation is solvent-free or solvent-free.

18. The solventless and/or low solvent formulation of embodiment 17 wherein the viscosity of the formulation ranges from 5 to 100cP when measured at 25 ℃ using a Brookfield RVDVII + cone-plate viscometer. The preferred viscosity of ink jet printing is 5-20cP at 25 ℃. If the cartridge is suitable for heating, the viscosity at 25℃is 15-100cP for cartridge temperatures between 35-100 ℃. Alternatively, the viscosity of the formulation is 5cP-10cP or 10cP-15cP, 15cP-20cP, 20cP-30cP, 30cP-50cP or 50cP-100cP when measured at 25 ℃. For deposition methods other than ink jet printing, the viscosity ranges from 100cP to 1,000cP, from 1,000cP to 5,000cP, and from 5,000cP to 12,000cP.

19. The solvent-free and/or low solvent formulation according to any one of embodiments 17 to 18, wherein the nanocrystal loading is from 35 wt% to 40 wt%, from 40 wt% to 45 wt%, from 45 wt% to 50 wt%, from 50 wt% to 55 wt%, from 55 wt% to 60 wt%, from 60 wt% to 65 wt% and from 65 wt% to 70 wt%.

20. The solvent-free and/or low solvent formulation of any one of embodiments 17 to 19, wherein the refractive index is 1.52-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, as measured by an abbe refractometer at 589 nm.

21. The solventless and/or solventless formulation of any one of embodiments 17 to 20, wherein the formulation has a surface tension ranging from 20-25 dynes/cm, 25-30 dynes/cm, 30-35 dynes/cm, and 35-40 dynes/cm when measured at 25 ℃ using a Rame-Hart surface tensiometer.

22. The solventless and/or low solvent formulation according to any one of embodiments 17 to 21, wherein the formulation has a% T of 99% to 95%, or 95% to 90%, or 90% to 85%, or 85% to 80%, 80% to 75%, or 75% to 70%, or 70% to 65%, or 65% to 60%, or 60% to 55%, or 55% to 50%, or 50% to 45%, or 45% to 40%, or 40% to 35%, or 35% to 30%, or 30% to 25%, or 25% to 20%, or 20% to 15%, or 15% to 10% in the visible wavelength (400-700 nm).

23. The formulation of embodiments 1-22 wherein the formulation polarity is at least 4.0% -8.0% to ensure that the nozzle plate of the inkjet printhead is barely wetted or non-wetted with a sufficiently high concentration of one or more suitable surfactants. British patent GB 2517592A (Sericol Ltd, A.Runacre, M.Pemble, G.Osborne, 25 d2, 2015) cited similar observations regarding minimum polarity values for good inkjet quality. Polarity is defined as the ratio of the polar component of the surface tension divided by the total surface tension of the formulation. The polar component of the surface tension was determined by measuring the contact angle and the surface tension of the formulation on the teflon substrate using a Rame-Hart goniometer and a surface tensiometer at Owens-Wendt-Rabel-Kaelble method (reference https://www.kruss-scientific.com/services/education-theory/glossary/owens-wendt-rabel-and-kaelble-owrk-method/) table 1 shows the measurements of contact angle, surface tension and polarity of the various monomers and formulations on the teflon substrate.

24. The formulation according to embodiments 1 to 23 is ink jet printable in that ink droplets are ejected from a printhead type such as Dimatix DMC, fujifilm SG1024/MA, konica Minolta KM1024i, the amount of ink droplets is between 6 and 40pL, and the ink droplet velocity is 3 to 9m/s. Applications of ink-jet printable formulations such as those described in the present invention include cover films, specific patterns, and micron to millimeter sized lenses.

25. The formulation according to embodiments 1-24 is deposited into a film by spin coating, slot die coating, screen printing, ink jet printing, nanoimprinting, photo patterning, 3D printing, dip coating, bar coating, roll-to-roll printing, spray coating, dispensing, volume casting, screen printing, and any combination thereof.

TABLE 1

26. A nanocomposite comprising the cured or partially cured formulation according to any of embodiments 1 to 25, wherein the formulation is cured by UV radiation at UV LED sources having wavelengths of 365nm, 385nm, 395nm and 405 nm. Films made from the formulations were UV cured with mercury "D", "H" and "V" lamps. The UV dose ranges from 0.1 to 10J/cm ². The preferred UV dose is 0.5-2J/cm ². UV curing is carried out under air or inert conditions, in particular under nitrogen.

27. The nanocomposite of embodiment 26, wherein the film thickness ranges from 50 nanometers to 100 micrometers. The preferred range of film thickness values is from 0.5 microns to 20 microns.

28. The nanocomposite of any of embodiments 26-27, wherein the at least 1 μm film has a surface roughness of 5-4nm or 4-3nm or 3-2nm or 2-1nm or 1-0.5nm or 0.5-0.1 nm.

29. The nanocomposite of any of embodiments 26-28, wherein the coating or film has high film uniformity (or low film non-uniformity) from edge to center. Film non-uniformity is defined as:

Where% NU is the non-uniformity of film thickness, and T _MAX、T_MIN and T _AVG are the maximum measured thickness, the minimum measured thickness, and the average thickness of the film, respectively. The% NU value ranges from 3% to 20%. Preferred% NU values are 5% to 10%.

30. The formulations according to embodiments 1 to 25 are applied to optically transparent hydrophilic substrates such as fused silica, soda lime glass, borosilicate glass, aluminum silicate, silicon nitride, indium tin oxide substrates. In contrast, the formulations according to embodiments 1 to 25 were applied to optically transparent hydrophobic substrates such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyimide, acrylic polymers, cyclic olefin copolymers, polycarbonate, polystyrene, silicone.

31. The nanocomposite of any of embodiments 26-29, wherein the cured nanocomposite has a% T in the visible wavelength of 99% -95%, or 95% -90%, or 90% -85%, or 85% -80%, 80% -75%, or 75% -70%, or 70% -65%, or 65% -60%, or 60% -55%, or 55% -50%, or 50% -45%, or 45% -40%, or 40% -35%, or 35% -30%, or 30% -25%, or 25% -20%, or 20% -15%, or 15% -10% at a thickness of less than 10 microns.

32. The nanocomposite of any of embodiments 26 to 29 and 31, wherein the cured nanocomposite has a refractive index at 550nm of 1.54-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, or 1.94-1.96, or 1.96-1.98, or 1.98-2.00.

Nanocomposite formulation

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a solvent-free or solvent-free nanocomposite formulation comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of 1 to 40nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethylene oxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethylene oxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane and glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrrimethoxysilane, heptanol, hexanol, octanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, oleyl alcohol, dodecanol, stearyl alcohol and triglyme, octanoic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, 2- [2- (2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy ] acetic acid, oleic acid, benzoic acid, stearic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid, 2- (2-methoxyethoxy) acetic acid, methacrylic acid, mono-2- (methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate, or any combination thereof. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants, comprising benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated tri (meth) acrylate (EOTMPTA and EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol di (meth) acrylate (HDDA and HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) di (meth) acrylate (DEGDA and DEGDMA), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol alkyd diacrylate, Tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxy diacrylate, ethyleneglycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate (HPPA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate (HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylphenol methacrylate (PPMA), isobutyl acrylate (IBA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-phenylthioethyl acrylate (PTEA), sulfur-containing commercial resins and adhesives such as #18109, #18165 and #6205 (NTT-AT); and LumipluS LP-1100, LPB-1102, LPJ-1102 and LPS-1130 (Mitsubishi GAS CHEMICAL Company), N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), phenylnorbornene, styrene (STY), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), 4-vinylanisole (4 VA), divinylbenzene (DVB), trimethylolpropane tris (3-mercaptopropionate) (TMPMP), pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP), ethylene glycol dimercaptopropionate, Ethylene glycol dimercaptoacetate, thiodiglycol, bis (mercaptoethyl) ether, 2' - (ethylenedioxy) diacetyl mercaptan, phenanthrene (PhA), 9-cyanophenanthrene, triphenylmethane, benzoquinoline, 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation comprises a curing agent for photopolymerization and/or thermal polymerization and a photoinitiator, comprisingP115 or benzophenone and its derivatives such as Ebecryl P39, benzophenone, speedCure BEM (Lambson USA Ltd, rutherford, CT, USA), or organic phosphines such as biphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-331, BYK-377, BYK-378 (BYK Chemie, GMBH), and fluorosurfactants such as Novec 4430, novec 4432 and Novec 4434(3M,St.Paul,MN,USA)、Capstone FS-3100(The Chemours Company,Wilmington,DE,USA)、BYK-352、BYK-353、BYK-356、BYK-361N、BYK-322、BYK-323、BYK-350(BYK Chemie,GMBH)、BYK-UV3530、DISPERBYK-101、DISPERBYK-130、DISPERBYK-140、DISPERBYK-160、DISPERBYK-161、DISPERBYK-162、DISPERBYK-163、DISPERBYK-164、DISPERBYK-165、DISPERBYK-166、DISPERBYK-170、DISPERBYK-171、DISPERBYK-182、DISPERBYK-2000、DISPERBYK-2001(BYK Chemie,GMBH)、Solsperse 32000、Solsperse 36000、Solsperse28000、Solsperse 20000、Solsperse 41000, and Solsperse 45000 (Lubrizol, WICKLIFFE, OH, USA).

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulation comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 5 nm to about 30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization, such as diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants such as BYK-378 and/or BYK-333, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulation comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization, such as diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The formulation contains a tackifier, such as an organofunctional silane, including 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane. The formulation comprises an antioxidant or oxygen inhibitor, including Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), irganox 1010, irganox 1076 and/or1076。

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulation comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 20 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 20 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 20.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 2.0 wt%.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides inkjet printable, solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 35 wt% to 70 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 30 wt% to 65 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides inkjet printable, solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 35 wt% to 70 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 30 wt% to 65 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%. The viscosity of the formulation at 25℃ranges from 6 to 80cP. The formulations have RI values at 589nm ranging from 1.50 to 1.80 or from 1.58 to 1.7.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides higher viscosity, solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 60 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 20 wt% to 40 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%. The viscosity of the formulation at 25℃ranges from 80 to 12,000cP. The formulations have RI values at 589nm ranging from 1.50 to 1.80 or from 1.58 to 1.7.

Nanocomposite material

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a nanocomposite comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of 1 to 40nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethylene oxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethylene oxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane and glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrrimethoxysilane, heptanol, hexanol, octanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, oleyl alcohol, dodecanol, stearyl alcohol and triglyme, octanoic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, 2- [2- (2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy ] acetic acid, oleic acid, benzoic acid, stearic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid, 2- (2-methoxyethoxy) acetic acid, methacrylic acid, mono-2- (methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate, or any combination thereof. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants, comprising benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated tri (meth) acrylate (EOTMPTA and EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol di (meth) acrylate (HDDA and HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) di (meth) acrylate (DEGDA and DEGDMA), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol alkyd diacrylate, Tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxy diacrylate, ethyleneglycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate (HPPA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate (HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylphenol methacrylate (PPMA), isobutyl acrylate (IBA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-phenylthioethyl acrylate (PTEA), sulfur-containing commercial resins and adhesives such as #18109, #18165 and #6205 (NTT-AT); and LumipluS LP-1100, LPB-1102, LPJ-1102 and LPS-1130 (Mitsubishi GAS CHEMICAL Company), N-vinylpyrrolidone (NVP), phenylnorbornene, styrene (STY), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), 4-vinylanisole (4 VA), divinylbenzene (DVB), trimethylolpropane tris (3-mercaptopropionate) (TMPMP), pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP), ethylene glycol dimercaptopropionate, Ethylene glycol dimercaptoacetate, thiodiglycol, bis (mercaptoethyl) ether, 2' - (ethylenedioxy) diacetyl mercaptan, phenanthrene (PhA), 9-cyanophenanthrene, triphenylmethane, benzoquinoline, 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation comprises a curing agent for photopolymerization and/or thermal polymerization and a photoinitiator, comprisingP115 or benzophenone and its derivatives such as Ebecryl P39, benzophenone, speedCure BEM (Lambson USA Ltd, rutherford, CT, USA), or organic phosphines such as biphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-331, BYK-377, BYK-378 (BYK Chemie, GMBH), and fluorosurfactants such as Novec 4430, novec 4432 and Novec 4434(3M,St.Paul,MN,USA)、Capstone FS-3100(The Chemours Company,Wilmington,DE,USA)、BYK-352、BYK-353、BYK-356、BYK-361N、BYK-322、BYK-323、BYK-350(BYK Chemie,GMBH)、BYK-UV3530、DISPERBYK-101、DISPERBYK-130、DISPERBYK-140、DISPERBYK-160、DISPERBYK-161、DISPERBYK-162、DISPERBYK-163、DISPERBYK-164、DISPERBYK-165、DISPERBYK-166、DISPERBYK-170、DISPERBYK-171、DISPERBYK-182、DISPERBYK-2000、DISPERBYK-2001(BYK Chemie,GMBH)、Solsperse 32000、Solsperse 36000、Solsperse28000、Solsperse 20000、Solsperse 41000, and Solsperse 45000 (Lubrizol, WICKLIFFE, OH, USA).

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a nanocomposite comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a nanocomposite comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The formulation contains a tackifier, such as an organofunctional silane, including 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane. The formulation comprises an antioxidant or oxygen inhibitor, including Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), irganox 1010, irganox 1076 and/or1076。

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a nanocomposite comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of two such oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 20 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 20 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 20.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 2.0 wt%.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides nanocomposites derived from inkjet printable, solvent-free or solvent-free nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of both of the oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 35 wt% to 70 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 30 wt% to 65 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides nanocomposites derived from inkjet printable, solvent-free or solvent-free nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of both of the oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 35 wt% to 70 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 30 wt% to 65 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%. The nanocomposite film had an RI value in the range of 1.63 to 1.75 at 550 nm. The% T value of the nanocomposite film above 400nm ranges from 80% to 97% for film thicknesses of 3-10 μm.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides nanocomposites derived from higher viscosity (80-12,000 cp), solvent-free or solvent-less nanocomposite formulations comprising metal oxide nanocrystals, such as zirconia, titania, or a mixture of both of the oxides; wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size in the range of about 10-30nm; wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of 3- (methacryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane, and/or methoxy (triethyloxy) propyl trimethoxysilane. The weight loading of the capped nanocrystals is from 60 wt% to 80 wt%. The formulation comprises reactive monomers, oligomers, polymers, diluents and/or organic dopants including benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-thiophenoethyl acrylate (PTEA), N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB), 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the reactive monomer is 20 wt% to 40 wt%. The formulation contains a curing agent and a photoinitiator for photopolymerization including diphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO), irgacure 819 or Irgacure 184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA), 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN), and combinations thereof. The weight loading of the curing agent or photoinitiator is 0.1 wt% to 3.0 wt%. The formulation contains surfactants, wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers and dispersants that promote efficient inkjet printing, including BYK-378 and/or BYK-333. The weight loading of the surfactant is 0.1 wt% to 1.0 wt%. The nanocomposite film has an RI value in the range of 1.75 to 1.90 at 550 nm. The% T value of the nanocomposite film above 400nm ranges from 80% to 97% for film thicknesses of 3-10 μm.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides:

[1] A formulation comprising at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals and a matrix comprising at least one of a monomer, oligomer, or polymer, for example, the at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals being dispersed in the matrix, wherein the metal oxide is zirconia, titania, hafnia, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides, wherein the formulation comprises less than 5 wt% solvent;

[2] The formulation of [1], further optionally comprising one or more agents independently selected from the following agents: curing agents, surfactants, wetting agents, antioxidants, tackifiers, leveling agents, dispersants, plasticizers, toughening agents, thickeners, diluents, diffusants, softeners, organic dopants, and other functional additives;

[3] the formulation of [1], wherein the matrix comprises one or more agents independently selected from the group consisting of: acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers, a reactive diluent and a curing agent, and optionally at least one surfactant or at least one wetting agent;

[4] The formulation of any one of [1] to [3], wherein the average particle size of the at least partially capped nanocrystals ranges from 1 to 40nm, preferably less than 30nm, as measured by DLS or TEM.

[5] The formulation of any one of [1] to [4], wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethylene oxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethylene oxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane, glycidoxypropyltrimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrimethoxysilane, heptanol, hexanol, benzyl alcohol, ethanol, oleyl alcohol, stearyl alcohol, 2- (2-methoxyacetic acid, 2-ethoxy) acetic acid, 2- [ 2-ethoxy ] acetic acid, 2-ethoxy-2- [ methyl-2-ethoxy ] acetic acid, 2-ethoxy-2- [ methyl-acetic acid, 2- [ ethoxy ] acetic acid, 2- [, mono-2- (methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate and combinations thereof;

[6] The formulation of any one of [1] to [5], having a weight loading of metal oxide nanocrystals of 20% to 80% by weight of the formulation;

[7] The formulation of any one of [1] to [6], wherein the formulation further comprises monofunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers having a high refractive index, such as benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate (BA and BMA), ethylene glycol phenyl ether acrylate, ethylene glycol phenyl ether methacrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate, 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate (HPPA and HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylphenol methacrylate (PPMA), isobutyl acrylate (IBA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-phenylthioethyl acrylate (PTEA), or a combination thereof;

[8] The formulation of any one of [1] to [7], wherein the formulation further comprises di-, tri-, tetra-, and/or pentafunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers such as 1, 6-hexanediol diacrylate, 1, 6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (HDDA and HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) diacrylate, di (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (DEGDA and DEGDMA), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol alkyd diacrylate, tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated triacrylate, trimethylolpropane ethoxylated trimethacrylate (EOTMPTA and EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxide diacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate (PETA), dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate/hexaacrylate (DPHA), or combinations thereof;

[9] The formulation according to any one of [1] to [8], wherein the formulation further comprises a reactive diluent such as 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone (NVP), N-vinylcaprolactam, 2- (2-vinyloxyethoxy) ethyl acrylate, 2- (2-vinyloxyethoxy) ethyl methacrylate, isobutyl acrylate, styrene (STY), 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), 4-vinylanisole (4 VA) and Divinylbenzene (DVB), wherein the weight percentage of the reactive diluent relative to the total monomer content is 25 wt% -70 wt%;

[10] the formulation of any one of [1] to [9], further comprising a di-, tri-and/or tetrafunctional thiol crosslinking agent, such as trimethylolpropane tris (3-mercaptopropionate);

[11] the formulation of any one of [1] to [10], wherein the formulation further comprises a sulfur-containing resin and/or binder, for example a sulfur-containing commercial resin and/or binder, such as #18109、#18165、#6205(NTT-AT)、LumipluS LP-1100、LPB-1102、LPJ-1102、LPS-1130(Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company) or a combination thereof;

[12] The formulation of any one of [1] to [11], wherein the formulation further comprises a reactive organic dopant, such as phenanthrene (PhA) or 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb), e.g., at a concentration ranging from 1wt% to 50 wt%;

[13] The formulation of any one of [1] to [12], wherein the formulation further comprises a surfactant or combination of surfactants, such as polyether modified siloxanes, fluorosurfactants, or combinations thereof, i.e., non-reactive or reactive in the acrylate monomer system, wherein the concentration of the surfactant in the total formulation ranges from 0.1 wt% to 2.0 wt% or from 0.5 wt% to 1.0 wt%;

[14] The formulation of any one of [1] to [13], wherein the formulation further optionally comprises scattering particles, such as titanium dioxide, aluminum oxide, silicon dioxide and/or low and/or high refractive index polymer particles, wherein the scattering particles range in size from 100-400nm, wherein the concentration of the scattering particles in the total formulation ranges from 0.1 wt% to 30.0 wt% or from 0.5 wt% to 17.0 wt%;

[15] The formulation of any one of [1] to [14], further comprising a curing agent or photoinitiator, such as Irgacure 184, irgacure 819, TPO, ebercryl P, 39, and/or Ebercryl P115, wherein the concentration of the curing agent or photoinitiator in the total formulation relative to the monomer content ranges from 0.1 wt% to 20 wt% or from 1.0 wt% to 4.0 wt%;

[16] the formulation of any one of [1] to [15], wherein the formulation is free of Benzyl Methacrylate (BMA) or trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA);

[17] The formulation of [16], wherein the viscosity of the formulation ranges from 5 to 100cP, preferably from 5 to 20cP for inkjet printing at 25℃when measured with a Brookfield RVDVII + cone-plate viscometer at 25℃and from 15 to 100cP for cartridge temperatures between 35℃and 100℃when the cartridge is heated for use, or from 5cP to 10cP, or from 10cP to 15cP, from 15cP to 20cP, from 20cP to 30cP, from 30cP to 50cP, or from 50cP to 100cP when measured at 25℃and from 100cP to 1,000cP, from 1,000cP to 5,000cP, or from 5,000cP to 12,000cP for deposition processes other than inkjet printing;

[18] The formulation of [17], wherein the nanocrystal loading is 35 wt% to 40 wt%, 40 wt% to 45 wt%, 45 wt% to 50 wt%, 50 wt% to 55 wt%, 55 wt% to 60 wt%, 60 wt% to 65 wt% and 65 wt% to 70 wt%;

[19] The formulation of any one of [17] to [18], wherein the formulation has a refractive index of 1.52-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, as measured by an abbe refractometer at 589 nm;

[20] The formulation of any one of [17] to [19], wherein the surface tension of the formulation ranges from 20-25 dynes/cm, 25-30 dynes/cm, 30-35 dynes/cm, and 35-40 dynes/cm when measured at 25 ℃ using a Rame-Hart surface tensiometer;

[21] The formulation of any one of [17] to [20], wherein the formulation has a% T of 99% -95%, or 95% -90%, or 90% -85%, or 85% -80%, 80% -75%, or 75% -70%, or 70% -65%, or 65% -60%, or 60% -55%, or 55% -50%, or 50% -45%, or 45% -40%, or 40% -35%, or 35% -30%, or 30% -25%, or 25% -20%, or 20% -15%, or 15% -10% in the visible wavelength (400-700 nm).

[22] The formulation of any one of [1] to [21], which is ink jet printable, for example, with ink drops of the formulation being jettable from a printhead type such as Dimatix DMC, fujifilm SG1024/MA, konica Minolta KM1024i, with an ink drop volume of between 6 and 40pL, and an ink drop velocity of 3 to 9m/s;

[23] A nanocomposite film prepared by a process comprising applying the formulation of any one of [1] to [22] onto a surface by spin coating, slot die coating, screen printing, inkjet printing, nanoimprinting, photo patterning, 3D printing, dip coating, rod coating, roll-to-roll printing, spray coating, dispensing, volume casting, screen printing, or any combination thereof, and optionally curing the applied formulation;

[24] A nanocomposite comprising the cured or partially cured formulation of any one of [1] to [23], wherein the formulation is cured or partially cured by UV radiation at a UV LED source having a wavelength of 365nm, 385nm, 395nm or 405nm or by mercury "D", "H" and "V" lamps at a UV dose in the range of 0.1-10J/cm2 or 0.5-2J/cm 2;

[25] The nanocomposite of [24], wherein the nanocomposite is a film having a thickness ranging from 50 nm to 100 microns, or from 0.5 microns to 20 microns.

[26] The nanocomposite of any one of [23] to [25], wherein the% T of the cured or partially cured nanocomposite at a thickness of less than 10 microns over visible wavelengths from 400nm to 700nm is 99% to 95%, or 95% to 90%, or 90% to 85%, or 85% to 80%, 80% to 75%, or 75% to 70%, or 70% to 65%, or 65% to 60%, or 60% to 55%, or 55% to 50%, or 50% to 45%, or 45% to 40%, or 40% to 35%, or 35% to 30%, or 30% to 25%, or 25% to 20%, or 20% to 15%, or 15% to 10%; or alternatively

[27] The nanocomposite of any one of [23] to [26], wherein the cured or partially cured nanocomposite has a refractive index at 550nm of 1.54-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, or 1.94-1.96, or 1.96-1.98, or 1.98-2.00.

Drawings

Fig. 1 shows exemplary viscosity at 25 ℃ as a function of weight percent of capped zirconia in BA as described in example 2.

Fig. 2 shows exemplary refractive index at 550nm of the cured film as described in example 2 as a function of volume percent of capped zirconia in BA.

Fig. 3 shows exemplary viscosity versus temperature behavior for formulations having different weight percentages of capped zirconia in monomer blends with and without surfactant as described in examples 2 and 3.

FIG. 4 depicts various degrees of nozzle plate wetting on Fujifilm Dimatix DMC cartridge nozzle plates: severe (top), moderate (middle) and almost no (bottom).

FIG. 5 is a TGA curve obtained by heating the formulated nanocomposite D3 described in example 3B.

Fig. 6 is the Optical Density (OD) of nanocomposite D3 as a formulation described in example 3B.

Fig. 7 shows the refractive index versus wavelength curve of the cured film of nanocomposite D3 described in example 3B.

Fig. 8 shows the% T versus wavelength curve for a 10 micron cured film of nanocomposite D3 described in example 3B.

Fig. 9 shows the viscosity at 25 ℃ versus the weight percent PGMEA added to the nanocomposites F1 and F2 at different viscosities as described in example 5A to demonstrate the dilution effect.

FIG. 10 shows the viscosity of the TiO2 nanocomposite formulation as a function of the weight percent loading of small (10 nm) and large (30 nm) TiO2 nanoparticles in BA and PBA monomers.

FIG. 11 shows the liquid RI at 589nm of the TiO2 nanocomposite formulation as a function of the weight percent loading of small (10 nm) and large (30 nm) TiO2 nanoparticles in BA and PBA monomers.

FIG. 12 shows the relationship of the cured film RI at 589nm for TiO2 nanocomposite formulation with the weight percent loading of small (10 nm) and large (30 nm) TiO2 nanoparticles in BA and PBA monomers.

Fig. 13A shows the% T versus wavelength for a 10nm TiO2 nanocomposite BA film having a thickness between 3.5-5.7 microns. Fig. 13B shows the% T versus wavelength for 10nm TiO2 nanocomposite PBA films with a thickness between 5.4-6.4 microns.

Fig. 14A shows the% T versus wavelength for 30nm TiO2 nanocomposite BA films with thicknesses between 3.3-6.1 microns. Fig. 14B shows the% T versus wavelength for a TiO2 nanocomposite PBA film of about 30nm thickness between 4.4-5.8 microns.

Fig. 15 has a% T of the ink jet printed film of example 10, which film consists of TiO2 of about 30nm and has a film thickness of 12.0 microns.

Brief description of the table

Table 1 shows the contact angle and static surface tension values on the teflon surface at 25 ℃ and the calculated polarity, dispersion component and polarity of the surface tension (defined as the ratio of the polar component of the static surface tension of the various monomers and formulations divided by the total static surface tension).

Table 2 shows nanocomposite formulations A1-A10 with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2 and different weight ratios of crosslinking agents as described in example 1 and their corresponding viscosities.

Table 3 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2 and different weight ratios of crosslinker as described in examples 4 and 5 and their corresponding viscosities.

Table 4 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2 and different weight ratios of monomer and PhA additives as described in example 6 and their corresponding viscosities and film refractive indices.

Table 5 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2 and different weight ratios of monomers as described in example 7 and their corresponding viscosities and film refractive indices.

Table 6 shows the formulations of about 10nm capped TiO2 and different weight ratios of BA and PBA monomers and their corresponding viscosities, formulation RI values at 589nm, nanocomposite film RI values at 550nm, film thickness, and% T values at 400nm and 700nm with different weight percentages as described in example 8.

Table 7 shows the formulations of about 30nm capped TiO2 and different weight ratios of BA and PBA monomers with different weight percentages as described in example 9 and their corresponding viscosities, formulation RI at 589nm, nanocomposite film Ri at 550nm, film thickness and% T at 400nm and 700 nm.

Table 8 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2, mixed ZrO2/TiO2 (about 10nm particle size) and TiO2 only, and different weight ratios of BA and NVP monomers as described in example 11, and their corresponding viscosities and film refractive indices.

Table 9 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2, tiO2 of about 30nm and different weight ratios of NTT-AT resin as described in example 12 and their corresponding nanocomposite film refractive indices.

Table 10 shows the formulations with different weight percentages of blocked ZrO2, tiO2 of about 10nm, and different weight ratios of LumipluS resins as described in example 13 and their corresponding nanocomposite film refractive indices.

Characterization of

In some embodiments, the presently disclosed formulations are analyzed using a TA instruments Q500 thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA) to determine the inorganic solid content. TGA was performed with a dispersion of nanocrystals in a solvent with boiling point <200 ℃ to determine the organic content of the capped nanocrystals. The mass percent relative to the initial mass at 200 ℃ is considered to be the capped nanocrystal and the mass percent relative to the initial mass at 700 ℃ is considered to be the inorganic portion of the capped nanocrystal, i.e., the inorganic solids content. The percentage of organic (% Org) of the capped nanocrystals is defined as the difference between the mass percent at 200 ℃ (M200℃) and the mass percent at 700 ℃ (M700℃) divided by the mass percent at 200 ℃):

for a nanocomposite or formulation, the percent solids (% S) is calculated from the inorganic content of the nanocomposite and the organic content of the capped nanocrystals measured in the solvent:

The end capped nanocrystals of the disclosed formulations comprise less than 10% by weight of the total formulation, or from 10% to 20% by weight of the total formulation, or from 20% to 30% by weight of the total formulation, or from 30% to 40% by weight of the total formulation, or from 40% to 50% by weight of the total formulation, or from 50% to 60% by weight of the total formulation, or from 60% to 70% by weight of the total formulation, or from 70% to 80% by weight of the total formulation, or from 80% to 90% by weight of the total formulation, or from 90% to 93% by weight of the total formulation.

Optical transmittance is a common technique for evaluating the quality of dispersions, formulations and nanocomposite films or coatings. Light propagating through the sample may be absorbed, scattered, or transmitted. The normal transmittance at a given wavelength is defined as tn=i/I ₀, where I ₀ is the intensity of the incident light and I is the intensity of the forward light collected by the detector, including light transmitted without scattering and light scattered to the forward direction. Theoretically, forward direction is defined as the same direction as the incident light, but due to the limited size of the detector, the detector will typically collect light within a small solid angle around that direction. Throughout this disclosure, this transmittance is referred to as the normal transmittance or the forward transmittance. The absorbance, i.e., optical Density (OD), of a sample at a given wavelength is defined as:

in measuring normal transmittance, measurement artifacts such as fresnel reflections at various interfaces and absorption by cuvette walls need to be considered and eliminated. This problem can be solved by using a reference by measuring the sample and the reference in the instrument side by side, or measuring the sample and the reference sequentially and then mathematically correcting the data. The liquid nanocrystal dispersion sample can be measured in a cuvette made of glass, quartz or plastic, and because of the limited thickness of the cuvette walls, there are four interfaces where fresnel reflection can occur and two walls where absorption can occur. Using cuvettes of the same material, wall thickness and optical path as reference, results with sufficient accuracy can be produced.

For thin film nanocomposites, the coated substrate can be measured side by side or sequentially with a blank substrate of the same material having the same thickness and surface smoothness to correct for absorption and reflection at the interface. Since the refractive index of the coating may be different from the refractive index of the substrate and air, the reflection of the film and the front side of the substrate may be slightly different based on the algorithm used by the spectrophotometer, typically resulting in a transmittance higher than 100%. The effect can be corrected, but the steps are complex and the error is usually small. For convenience, the transmittance data shown in this disclosure is measured without correction.

Light that is neither transmitted nor scattered nor reflected is absorbed. Absorbance can be calculated by subtracting transmitted light, scattered light, and reflected light from incident light.

The presently disclosed formulations without curing agent have an optical transmittance at 450nm of 99% -95%, or 95% -90%, or 90% -85%, or 85% -80%, 80% -75%, or 75% -70%, or 70% -65%, or 65% -60%, or 60% -55%, or 55% -50%, or 50% -45%, or 45% -40%, or 40% -35%, or 35% -30%, or 30% -25%, or 25% -20%, or 20% -15%, or 15% -10% when measured in a cuvette having an optical path of 1cm using a PERKIN ELMER Lambda 850 spectrophotometer.

The presently disclosed formulations without curing agent have an optical transmittance at 400nm of 99% -95%, or 95% -90%, or 90% -85%, or 85% -80%, 80% -75%, or 75% -70%, or 70% -65%, or 65% -60%, or 60% -55%, or 55% -50%, or 50% -45%, or 45% -40%, or 40% -35%, or 35% -30%, or 30% -25%, or 25% -20%, or 20% -15%, or 15% -10% when measured in a cuvette having an optical path of 1cm using a PERKIN ELMER Lambda 850 spectrophotometer.

The viscosity of the formulations of the present disclosure is from about 1cP to about 12,000cP. The viscosity of the formulations of the present disclosure is about 1cP, about 2cP, about 5cP, about 10cP, about 15cP, about 20cP, about 25cP, about 30cP, about 40cP, about 50cP, about 60cP, about 75cP, about 100cP, about 200cP, 500cP, or about 1,000cP when measured with a Brookfield RVDVII + cone-plate viscometer at 25 ℃.

Refractive index was measured using a Metricon 2010/M prism coupler equipped with 448nm and 635nm laser beams. An estimated refractive index of the same material at a third wavelength may be calculated. The calculation of the refractive index at 550nm is based on the 2-term form of the cauchy equation:

The a and B parameters depend on RI values measured at specific wavelengths, which are selected to be 448nm and 635nm. By expressing parameters A and B with RI (448 nm) and RI (635 nm), the following formula allows calculation of RI (550 nm):

Recipe Components and Properties

The present disclosure provides solvent-free, low viscosity, high transparency, high RI formulations comprising at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals dispersed in a monomer, oligomer, polymer, or mixture thereof. The formulation further comprises a curing agent, a tackifier, a wetting agent, a leveling agent, a dispersing agent, a viscosity modifier, an organic dopant, and an antioxidant. These formulations make it possible to produce nanocomposite and thin film coatings having high refractive indices and high optical clarity. These inkjet-specific formulations should have a strong resistance to inkjet nozzle faceplate wetting and proper wetting to the desired substrate. The liquid wets a particular solid surface and once the liquid reaches equilibrium, a contact angle is formed. The very low value of the contact angle is typically less than 10 ° and the liquid has a high wettability to the surface. By high wettability, a uniform coating can be obtained. A contact angle greater than 45 ° indicates a partially wetted or unwetted condition. In this case, irregular surfaces and possible lens printing are possible results and generally represent high surface tension liquids on low surface energy surfaces.

The resulting nanocomposite film should have moderate to high degree of cure, good adhesion to the intended substrate, and good film uniformity.

Although the formulations described herein focus on curing using UV radiation, thermal curing is entirely possible using a suitable thermal initiator such as 2, 2-azobis (2-methylpropanenitrile) (AIBN).

In some cases known to the skilled person, combinations of more than one curing agent are advantageous.

The curing agent of the disclosed formulations is present in an amount of less than 0.5% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 0.5% to 1% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 1% to 2% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 2% to 3% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 3% to 4% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 4% to 5% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 5% to 6% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 6% to 7% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer, or 7% to 8% by weight of the total monomer, oligomer and/or polymer.

The adhesion promoter, if present, is selected from organometallic compounds such as organofunctional silanes, or from functionalized monomers and oligomers. Some organic substrates and good film uniformity.

Nanocrystals of the present disclosure comprise nanocrystals of a metal oxide, such as zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides, having a high bulk refractive index, typically greater than 2, and high transparency due to their large band gap in the visible spectrum.

The capped nanocrystals of the present disclosure have an average size range of 3-40nm, as measured by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) with a narrow size distribution.

The capped nanocrystals of the present disclosure, when dispersed in a solvent such as PGMEA at a concentration of less than or equal to 5wt%, are monodisperse, for example, at an average size of less than 20nm, as measured with a Malvern Zetasizer Nano S Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) instrument. DLS measures particle size and solvent shell around nanocrystals. The capped nanocrystals of the present disclosure remain dispersible or remain free of agglomeration in the polymer or monomer matrix. Such physical properties of the disclosed materials not only reduce light scattering, but also improve processability.

The capped nanocrystals of the present disclosure are prepared by the methods described in provisional patent application 62/769,703 and patent No. US 8592511B2, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

Nanocrystals of the present disclosure are at least partially capped with a particular functional group (also referred to as a capping agent or capping group). These specific functional groups are grafted to the surface of the nanocrystals. The capping reaction is carried out in the presence of water. As used herein, a capped nanocrystal and an at least partially capped nanocrystal are functionally equivalent.

The capping agents of the capped nanocrystals in the disclosed formulation include silanes, carboxylic acids, and/or alcohols. Examples of silanes of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethylene oxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane and glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrimethoxysilane, or any combination thereof.

Examples of alcohols of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, heptanol, hexanol, octanol, benzyl alcohol, phenol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, oleyl alcohol, dodecanol, stearyl alcohol, and triglyme, or any combination thereof.

Examples of carboxylic acids of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, octanoic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, 2- [2- (2-methoxyethoxy) ethoxy ] acetic acid, oleic acid, benzoic acid, stearic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, biphenyl-4-carboxylic acid, 2- (2-methoxyethoxy) acetic acid, methacrylic acid, mono-2- (methacryloyloxy) ethyl succinate, or any combination thereof.

The monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers of the disclosed formulations include acrylic, vinyl, or combinations thereof.

Acrylic monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers of the disclosed formulations include benzyl (meth) acrylate (BA and BMA), trimethylolpropane tri (meth) acrylate (TMPTA and TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated tri (meth) acrylate (EOTMPTA and EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol di (meth) acrylate (HDDA and HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) di (meth) acrylate (DEGDA and DEGDMA), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol acid diacrylate, tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxy diacrylate, ethylene glycol phenyl ether (meth) acrylate (PEA and PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate (HPPA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate (HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenylphenol methacrylate (PPMA), isobutyl acrylate (IBA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (2-PEA), 2-phenylethyl acrylate (p-thio) and sulfur-containing resins such as 35 # 25 and # 35 AT (commercial, # 5 and # 35; and LumipluS LP-1100, LPB-1102, LPJ-1102 and LPS-1130 (Mitsubishi GAS CHEMICAL Company) or combinations thereof.

Vinyl monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers of the disclosed formulations include N-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP), phenyl norbornene, styrene (STY), 4-methyl styrene, 4-vinyl anisole, divinylbenzene, or combinations thereof.

The formulations disclosed herein include mercapto-functional monomers such as trimethylolpropane tris (3-mercaptopropionate) (TMPMP), pentaerythritol tetrakis (3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP), ethylene glycol dimercaptopropionate, ethylene glycol dimercaptoacetate, thiodiglycol, bis (mercaptoethyl) ether, 2' - (ethylenedioxy) diacetyl mercaptan, and combinations thereof.

The disclosed formulations include organic dopants to increase the refractive index of the film or coating. Organic dopants, if present, include phenanthrene (PhA), 9-cyanophenanthrene, triphenylmethane, benzoquinoline, 9-vinylcarbazole, and combinations thereof.

The curing agent of the disclosed formulation contains a photopolymerization initiator. Any photopolymerization initiator may be used as long as it is capable of generating an active substance, such as a radical having light (UV) energy, so long as it does not limit the optical and physical properties of the nanocomposite. Photopolymerization initiator curing agents include amines such asP115, or benzophenone and derivatives thereof such asP39, benzophenone, speedCure BEM (Lambson USA Ltd, rutherford, CT, USA), or organic phosphines such as biphenyl (2, 4, 6-trimethylbenzoyl) -phosphine oxide (TPO),819 Or184 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA). The formulation comprises a single photopolymerization initiator or any combination thereof. Suitable functional silane adhesion promoters contain amino or methacryloxy groups. Exemplary silane adhesion promoters include, but are not limited to, 3-aminopropyl triethoxysilane, 3- [ (methacryloxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, ureidopropyltrimethoxysilane, and trimethoxy [3- (methylamino) propyl ] silane. Functionalized monomeric and oligomeric tackifiers include, but are not limited to, CN820, CN146 (Sartomer Americas, exton, PA, USA), SR9051, SR9053 (Sartomer Americas, exton, PA, USA), and Ebecryl 171 (Allnex USA inc., walingford, CT, USA).

The adhesion promoters of the disclosed formulations are present in an amount of less than 0.5% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers, or from 0.5% to 1% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers, or from 1% to 5% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers, or from 5% to 10% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers, or from 10% to 15% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers, or from 15% to 30% by weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers.

Surfactants used as wetting agents, leveling agents, defoamers, and dispersants are optionally present to reduce the surface tension of the formulation, thereby improving the flowability of the formulation to produce a more uniform dry coating surface. The surfactant may be nonionic, anionic, or a combination thereof. Representative examples of suitable wetting agents include, but are not limited to, silicone surfactants such as BYK-331, BYK-377, BYK-378 (BYK Chemie, GMBH), and fluorosurfactants such as Novec 4430, novec 4432, and Novec 4434 (3M, st. Paul, MN, USA) and Capstone FS-3100 (The Chemours Company, wilmington, DE, USA). Optionally using a leveling agent. Examples of leveling agents include polyacrylate compounds such as BYK-352, BYK-353, BYK-356 and BYK-361N; aralkyl-modified polymethylalkylsiloxanes such as BYK-322, BYK-323, and BYK-350 (BYK Chemie, GMBH); and polyether modified acrylic functional siloxanes such as BYK-UV3530. Examples of the dispersant include, but are not limited to, polyalkylene glycols and esters thereof, polyalkylene oxides, polyol ester alkylene oxide adducts, alcohol alkylene oxide adducts, sulfonates, carboxylic acid esters, carboxylic acid salts, alkylamide alkylene oxide adducts, alkylamines, and the like, and are used alone or as a mixture of two or more. Commercially available examples of dispersants include, but are not limited to DISPERBYK-101、DISPERBYK-130、DISPERBYK-140、DISPERBYK-160、DISPERBYK-161、DISPERBYK-162、DISPERBYK-163、DISPERBYK-164、DISPERBYK-165、DISPERBYK-166、DISPERBYK-170、DISPERBYK-171、DISPERBYK-182、DISPERBYK-2000、DISPERBYK-2001(BYK Chemie,GMBH)、Solsperse 32000、Solsperse 36000、Solsperse28000、Solsperse 20000、Solsperse 41000 and Solsperse 45000 (Lubrizol, WICKLIFFE, OH, USA).

To improve wettability, the disclosed formulations have an amount of surfactant of less than 0.05% by weight of the total formulation, or from 0.05% to 0.1% by weight of the total formulation, or from 0.1% to 0.5% by weight of the total formulation, or from 0.5% to 1% by weight of the total formulation, or from 1% to 2% by weight of the total formulation, or from 2% to 5% by weight of the total formulation. To aid in dispersion, the amount of surfactant in the disclosed formulations varies depending on the material being dispersed. The amount of dispersant is less than 3% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 3% to 5% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 5% to 10% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 10% to 20% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 20% to 40% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 40% to 60% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 60% to 80% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 80% to 100% by weight of the dispersed material, or is 100% to 150% by weight of the dispersed material.

The antioxidants of the disclosed formulations include at least one primary antioxidant. The primary antioxidant comprises a sterically hindered phenol such as Irganox 1010, irganox 1076,1076、2450 Or a phenol phosphite such as1680 Or phosphines such as Irgaphos168 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA) or aromatic secondary or hindered amines such as6220(Songwon Americas,Friendwood,TX,USA)。

The formulations of the present disclosure comprise at least one secondary antioxidant. The secondary antioxidant is preferably selected from compounds comprising at least one unit formed by a sulphur atom linked to two carbon atoms. Representative examples of secondary antioxidants are di (tert-butyl) hydroxyphenylamino dioctylthiotriazine and Irganox PS800 (BASF USA, florham Park, NJ, USA).

The disclosed formulation has an antioxidant amount of less than 0.5% by weight of the total formulation, or from 0.5% to 1% by weight of the total formulation, or from 1% to 2% by weight of the total formulation, or from 2% to 3% by weight of the total formulation, or from 3% to 4% by weight of the total formulation, or from 4% to 5% by weight of the total formulation, or from 5% to 6% by weight of the total formulation, or from 6% to 7% by weight of the total formulation, or from 7% to 8% by weight of the total formulation, or from 8% to 10% by weight of the total formulation.

The formulations disclosed herein also contain plasticizers, toughening agents, thickening agents, diluents, dispersing or softening agents or other functional additives.

The formulations disclosed herein also contain small concentrations of solvents (within the definition of "solvent-free" and "solvent-free") for maintaining lower viscosities. The choice of solvent depends entirely on the type of capped nanocrystal and the monomers, oligomers, and polymers selected in the formulation. Examples of common solvents ranging from low boiling point to high boiling point are alcohols, ethylene glycol, methyl acetate, ethyl acetate, esters, ketones, glycol ethers, ethylene glycol esters, such as Propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether Acetate (PGMEA), propylene Glycol Monomethyl Ether (PGME), ethylene glycol monobutyl ether acetate, diethylene glycol butyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether acetate, dipropylene glycol methyl ether acetate, butoxyethanol, butoxypropanol, ethoxyethyl acetate, butoxyethyl acetate, 2- (isopentyloxy) ethanol, 2- (hexyloxy) ethanol, diethylene glycol monomethyl ether, diethylene glycol monoethyl ether, triethylene glycol monomethyl ether, dipropylene glycol monomethyl ether and dipropylene glycol monoethyl ether, ethyl acetate, THF, acetone, any combination thereof.

The formulations of the present disclosure exhibit an adjustable viscosity, and/or a viscosity that is controlled by one or more components of the formulation. Parameters that control the viscosity of the formulation include, but are not limited to, average length and molecular weight of the monomers, oligomers, and/or polymers; as well as the presence and concentration of the solvent, the presence and concentration of the thickener (i.e., viscosity modifying component), the particle size of the components present in the formulation, the temperature, and combinations thereof.

The formulations of the present disclosure are stable for more than 1 week, or more than 2 weeks, or more than 3 weeks, or more than 6 weeks, or more than 8 weeks, or more than 3 months, or more than 6 months, or more than 12 months, or more than 36 months, without a significant increase in viscosity. The capped nanocrystals should not have visible precipitation and the formulation viscosity should vary by less than 10%, or less than 20%, or less than 30%, or less than 40%, or less than 50%, or less than 100%. Further, the optical transmittance change at 450nm of the formulation should be less than 10% reduction in transmittance, or less than 20% reduction in transmittance, or less than 30% reduction in transmittance, or less than 40% reduction in transmittance, or less than 50% reduction in transmittance.

For the purpose of inkjet printing, the formulations disclosed herein were stable to jetting for more than 1 hour, more than 8 hours, more than 1 day, or more than 1 week without a significant increase in viscosity. The formulation does not harden by drying or curing, resulting in blockage of the printhead nozzles.

Method for preparing solvent-free or solvent-less formulations

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method of preparing a solvent-free nanocomposite formulation comprising a direct dispersion (nanocrystals dispersed directly in a medium), in which method: separating the capped nanocrystals from the solvent and vacuum drying until the solvent content is less than 5% to form dried nanocrystals; the dried nanocrystals of the at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals are mixed in at least one monomer, oligomer, polymer, or mixture thereof by dipping, stirring, flash mixing, microfluidization, or other mixing method. In further embodiments, the method further comprises filtering the mixture to remove aggregates or other contaminants.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure provides a method of preparing a solvent-free formulation comprising mixing a dry powder of at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals in at least one solvent by soaking, stirring, rapid mixing, microfluidization, or other mixing method to provide a nanocrystal solvent dispersion; mixing the dispersion with at least one monomer, oligomer, polymer or mixture or monomers, oligomers and/or polymers to provide a solvent-containing formulation; the solvent is removed by evaporation or other solvent removal methods such as rotary evaporation. In further embodiments, the method further comprises filtering the solvent-containing or solvent-free formulation to remove aggregates or other contaminants. In some embodiments, the solvent used according to the method includes ethyl acetate, methyl ethyl ketone, or other low boiling point solvents.

Nanocomposite properties

A nanocomposite comprising a film, coating, layer, lens on a substrate or freestanding. The present disclosure provides a nanocomposite comprising a mixture of an organic polymerizable matrix, a curing agent, and capped nanocrystals, wherein the capped nanocrystals are present in the nanocomposite in an amount of 20% -80% by weight of the nanocomposite. The finer loading of the ink-jet printable formulation is 30 wt% to 70 wt% and is highly dependent on the choice of monomers, oligomers, polymers and solvents (if any).

The disclosed nanocomposite materials include nanocrystals of a metal oxide, such as zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides.

The capping agents of the capped nanocrystals in the disclosed nanocomposite include silanes, carboxylic acids, and/or alcohols. Examples of silanes of the present disclosure include, but are not limited to, methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m, p-ethylphenylethyltrimethoxysilane, 2- [ methoxy (polyethylene oxy) propyl ] trimethoxysilane, methoxy (triethyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (methacryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3- (acryloyloxy) propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltriethoxysilane, 3-isocyanatopropyltrimethoxysilane and glycidoxypropyl trimethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, allyltrimethoxysilane, 1-hexenyltrimethoxysilane, 1-octenyltrimethoxysilane, or any combination thereof.

The inorganic solid content of the disclosed nanocomposite coatings or films was analyzed using a TA instruments Q500 thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). The procedure is the same as described previously.

The inorganic solid content of the nanocomposite coating disclosed herein ranges from 0% to 10% by TGA, from 10% to 20% by TGA, or from 20% to 30% by TGA, or from 30% to 40% by TGA, or from 40% to 50% by TGA, or from 50% to 60% by TGA, or from 60% to 70% by TGA, or from 70% to 80% by TGA, or from 80% to 90% by TGA, or from 90% to 93% by TGA.

The monomer units of the polymer matrix of the nanocomposite coating or film disclosed herein include acrylic. The monomer units of the polymer matrix of the nanocomposite coating or film disclosed herein include Benzyl Methacrylate (BMA), benzyl Acrylate (BA), trimethylolpropane triacrylate (TMPTA), trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate (TMPTMA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated triacrylate (EOTMPTA), trimethylolpropane ethoxylated trimethacrylate (EOTMPTMA), 1, 6-hexanediol diacrylate (HDDA), 1, 6-hexanediol dimethacrylate (HDDMA), di (ethylene glycol) diacrylate (DEGDA), di (ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (degma), ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1, 3-diglycerol alkyd diacrylate, tri (propylene glycol) diacrylate, 1, 6-hexanediol ethyleneoxy diacrylate, ethylene glycol Phenyl Ether Acrylate (PEA), ethylene glycol Phenyl Ether Methacrylate (PEMA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate (HPPA), 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate (HPPMA), 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate (PBA), biphenyl methacrylate (BPMA), 2-phenyl methacrylate (IBA), or any combination thereof.

The refractive index of the nanocomposite disclosed herein at 550nm is 1.54-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62 or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94.

The presently disclosed nanocomposites also exhibit pencil hardness of 2H or higher, 3H or higher, or 4H or higher, or 5H or higher, or 6H or higher when tested using ASTM D3363 method.

For films less than 20 microns thick, the presently disclosed nanocomposites have a high optical (400-800 nm) transmittance of 99.9% -99%, or 99% -98%, or 98% -97%, or 97% -96%, or 96% -95%, or 95% -90%, or 90% -85%, or 85% -80%, 80% -75%, or 75% -70%, or 70% -65%, or 65% -60%, or 60% -55%, or 55% -50%, or 50% -45%, or 45% -40%, or 40% -35%, or 35% -30%, or 30% -25%, or 25% -20%, or 20% -15%, or 15% -10%. The transmittance of films according to the present disclosure includes the normal transmittance measured with a Perkin-Elmer UV-Vis Lambda850 spectrophotometer, wherein the nanocomposite is coated on an optically transparent substrate (such as a fused silica or glass substrate) and a blank substrate of the same type and thickness is used as a reference.

The nanocomposite disclosed herein additionally exhibits thermal stability at temperatures above 120 ℃, or above 175 ℃, or above 200 ℃, or above 250 ℃, or above 260 ℃, or above 300 ℃. The thermal stability is measured by: the nanocomposite is left in air, nitrogen, or vacuum at the specified temperature for 5 minutes or more, or 10 minutes or more, or 30 minutes or more, or 60 minutes or more, or 120 minutes or more without visually observable staining, cracking, or delamination, and the transmittance at 400nm is reduced by less than 10%, or the transmittance is reduced by less than 20%, or the transmittance is reduced by less than 30%, or the transmittance is reduced by less than 40%, or the transmittance is reduced by less than 50%.

Method for preparing nanocomposite

The present disclosure provides methods of preparing nanocomposite materials using the formulations disclosed herein. Described herein are nanocomposite films comprising the cured or partially cured formulations of the present disclosure. The nanocomposite is cured or partially cured by UV or thermal curing techniques known to those of ordinary skill in the art.

The present disclosure provides a nanocomposite film as described herein, wherein the film is produced by applying a formulation to a surface by: spin coating, slot die coating, screen printing, ink jet printing, nanoimprinting, photo patterning, 3D printing, dip coating, draw bar coating, roll-to-roll printing, spray coating, dispensing, volume casting, screen printing, and any combination thereof.

Device and method for manufacturing the same

The present disclosure provides a device comprising an active component comprising or containing the nanocomposite of the present disclosure. Devices include smart windows, sensors, CMOS sensors, LEDs, mini-LEDs, micro LEDs, organic LEDs (OLEDs), quantum LEDs (QLEDs), touch screens, displays, flexible electronics, printed electronics, self-cleaning surfaces, augmented Reality (AR), mixed Reality (MR) and Virtual Reality (VR), waveguides, light extraction, and 3D sensors.

Examples

Example 1

The capped ZrO2 nanocrystals described in the above embodiments are dispersed into the desired monomer such as BA or PEA by direct dispersion (see part 1 of the process for preparing solvent-free or low solvent formulations) and diluted with a crosslinker such as TMPTA, HDDA and TMPMP such that the desired loading of zirconia in the formulation ranges from 35 wt.% to 70 wt.%, BA wt.% ranges from 4 wt.% to 20 wt.%, PEA wt.% ranges from 20 wt.% to 40 wt.%, TMPTA wt.% ranges from 2 wt.% to 5 wt.%, TMPMP wt.% ranges from 3 wt.% to 5 wt.%, HDDA wt.% ranges from 1 wt.% to 3 wt.%, and BYK 378 wt.% ranges from 0.5 wt.% to 1.0 wt.%. Representative formulations of example 1 were labeled as formulations A1 to a10 according to table 1 below:

TABLE 2

Example 1A

Photo initiator819 Photoinitiator) was added to formulation A10, which had 35 wt% blocked ZrO2 nanocrystals blocked in a blend consisting of 27.6 wt% BA, 27.6 wt% PEA, 4.9 wt% TMPTA, and 4.9 wt% TMPMP, showing a viscosity of 11.5cP, in an amount of 4 wt% relative to the monomer content. Formulation a10 with added photoinitiator was then deposited on a glass substrate as a film with a thickness of 10 microns. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV light of 385nm to give a cured film having a refractive index of 1.58 at 550 nm. /(I)

Example 2

The capped ZrO2 nanocrystals used in example 1 were dispersed into Benzyl Acrylate (BA) monomer in the same manner as previously described to achieve several weight percent of nanocrystal loading (NC wt%) to form a nanocomposite. A silicone surfactant (BYK 378, commercially available from BYK Chemie, GMBH) was added in an amount of 1.0 wt.% to form another nanocomposite. The weight percent of capped nanocrystals ranged from 35 to 70 weight percent, the weight percent of BA ranged from 35 to 70 weight percent, and the weight percent of BYK 378 relative to the total formulation ranged from 0.5 to 1.0 weight percent.

Nanocomposite B1 and B2 contained 50 wt% (23.3 vol%) nanocrystals in BA without and with 1 wt% BYK 378 surfactant, respectively. FIG. 1 shows the behavior of the viscosity of uncured formulation B1 at 25℃as a function of the weight percent of zirconia nanoparticles. Nanocomposite formulation viscosity of nanocomposite B1 containing 50 wt% nanocrystals was 10cP. FIG. 2 shows the relationship of the volume percent of the cured B1 film RI (calculated from measurements at 448nm and 635 nm) at 550nm for the formulation depicted in this example. Nanocomposite B1 containing 50 wt% nanocrystals had a nanocomposite film RI at 550nm of 1.624. For some inkjet printheads, the viscosity versus temperature behavior is important. Fig. 3 shows the viscosity-temperature relationship of nanocomposite B1 and B2 and the uncured formulation of the other two nanocomposites described in example 3 for comparison. The viscosity of the nanocomposites B1 and B2 decreased from about 9.1-9.8cP at 25℃to 5.0-5.2cP at 50 ℃.

Example 3

The blocked nanocrystals of ZrO2 used in example 1 were dispersed into the desired monomer blend, e.g., BA, NVP and PBA with surfactants such as BYK 378, to give the desired zirconia loading in the formulation in the range of 30 to 70 weight percent. Preferred capped nanocrystals range from 35 wt% to 60 wt%, BA ranges from 15 wt% to 30 wt%, NVP ranges from 5 wt% to 20wt%, PBA ranges from 5 wt% to 20wt%, and BYK 378 ranges from 0.5 wt% to 1.0 wt% relative to the total formulation. The combination of PBA and BYK 378 will result in little or no wetting of the nozzle plates of a particular inkjet printhead (e.g., dimatix DMC and KM1024i HE series). Fig. 4 shows three pictures, ranging from severe wetting (top) to moderate (middle) to no (bottom), as examples of nozzle plate wetting.

Example 3A

One specific example is a formulation containing 40wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 30.0 wt% BA, 30.0 wt% PBA, BYK 378 (nanocomposite C1-without BYK 378; nanocomposite C2-with 1.0 wt% BYK 378 (relative to the total formulation)) and nanocomposite C2 having a viscosity of 14.2cP at 25 ℃ and a surface tension of 22.0 dynes/cm. Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the C2 formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a film. A10 μm film of each formulation was coated on a glass substrate, which had a refractive index of 1.64 at 550nm, and then cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385 nm. The resulting films were nanocomposite C1 and C2. The viscosity versus temperature of the nanocomposite materials C1 and C2 is shown in FIG. 3. The viscosity of the nanocomposites B1 and B2 decreased from about 12.5-14.0cP at 25℃to 6.1-7.0cP at 50 ℃.

Example 3B

Another example is a formulation containing 45 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 27.5 wt% BA, 16.5 wt% NVP, 11.0 wt% PBA, BYK 378 (nanocomposite D1-without BYK 378; nanocomposite D2-with 1.0 wt% BYK 378 (relative to the total formulation)) and nanocomposite D2 having a viscosity of 10.1cP at 25 ℃ and a surface tension of 22.0 dynes/cm.

TGA scans were used to characterize the percent solids in the formulation and are described on page 11. Another characterization tool uses UV-Vis spectroscopy to determine the optical density of the uncured formulation and is described on page 12. Fig. 5 and 6 show TGA scans and graphs of optical density versus wavelength for nanocomposite D2, respectively. TGA scans showed a residual amount of 38.46% after heating at 700 ℃. The Optical Density (OD) values at 350nm and 450nm were about 1.20 and 0.15, respectively.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to nanocomposite D2 at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a film. The 10 μm film coated on the glass substrate was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV of 385nm and the refractive index at 550nm was 1.64.

Another example is a formulation containing 50 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 25.0 wt% BA, 15.0 wt% NVP, 10.0 wt% PBA, and 1.0 wt% BYK 378 was added to the mixture to form nanocomposite D3 having a viscosity of 14.2cP at 25 ℃ and a surface tension of 22.0 dynes/cm. Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a film. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.651 at 550 nm.

Typical optical properties of the cured nanocomposite film are transmittance and refractive index in the visible wavelength range (400 nm to 700 nm). FIGS. 7 and 8 are graphs of refractive index versus wavelength,% T versus wavelength for 10 μm thick nanocomposite D3 films, where the film RI is 1.651 and the transmittance at 550nm is 96.5%. Table 3 gives the composition, formulation viscosity, nanocomposite film RI and nozzle wetting behavior of the various formulations including nanocomposite D2 and D3.

TABLE 3 Table 3

* All nanocomposites had BYK 378 at 1% by weight of the total formulation

Example 4

The blocked nanocrystals of ZrO2 used in example 1 were dispersed into the desired monomer blend in the same manner as previously described, for example with surfactants such as BA, NVP, PBA and BPMA of BYK 378, to give the desired zirconia loading in the formulation in the range of 30 to 70 weight%. Preferred capped nanocrystals range from 35 wt% to 60 wt%, BA ranges from 15 wt% to 30wt%, NVP ranges from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, PBA ranges from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, BPMA wt% ranges from 10 wt% to 30wt%, and BYK 378 ranges from 0.5 wt% to 1.0 wt%. Table 3 includes observations of composition, viscosity, cured film RI, and nozzle plate wetting of the nanocomposites E1-E6 from this example.

Example 4A

One specific example is nanocomposite E6, which is a formulation containing 40 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 18.0 wt% BA, 12.0 wt% NVP, 18.0 wt% PBA, 12.0 wt% BPMA, and 1.0 wt% BYK 378, and having a viscosity of 17.6cP at 25 ℃ and a surface tension of 22.0 dynes/cm.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a 10 micron film on a glass substrate. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.643 at 550 nm.

Example 5

The capped ZrO ₂ nanocrystals used in example 1 were dispersed into the desired monomer blend in the same manner as previously described, e.g., BA, NVP, PBA and BPMA with surfactants such as BYK 378, to achieve the desired loading of zirconia in the formulation with the addition of solvent (such as PGMEA) to reduce viscosity. The preferred small amount of PGMEA added is 1 wt% to 10 wt% of the total formulation to provide a solvent-free and solvent-less formulation as described in the present invention.

Example 5A

Two specific examples are nanocomposite F1 containing 80 wt% capped nanocrystals in 20wt% PEA, with an initial viscosity of 5,75 cp at 25 ℃; and nanocomposite F2 containing 75 wt% capped nanocrystals in 25 wt% BA, which had an initial viscosity of 140.6cP at 25 ℃. Fig. 9 shows that PGMEA was added to nanocomposites F1 and F2 relative to the total formulation, with viscosity reduced to about 100cP and 30cP, respectively, at a dilution of 10%.

Example 6

The capped ZrO2 nanocrystals used in example 1 were dispersed into the desired monomer blend in the same manner as previously described, e.g., with surfactants such as BA, NVP, PBA and BPMA of BYK 378, to achieve the desired loading of zirconia in the formulation, and with the addition of organic dopants such as phenanthrene (PhA). Preferred capped nanocrystals range from 35 wt% to 60 wt%, BA ranges from 15 wt% to 30 wt%, NVP ranges from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, PBA ranges from 5 wt% to 15 wt%, BPMA wt% ranges from 10 wt% to 30 wt%, phA ranges from 10 wt% to 20 wt% relative to monomer content, and BYK 378 ranges from 0.5 wt% to 1.0 wt% relative to the total formulation. Table 4 shows the composition, formulation viscosity and nanocomposite film RI of the various materials with and without PhA added. Table 4 shows examples of nanocomposite materials D3, D4, D5, G1 and G2.

Example 6A

One specific example is nanocomposite G1, which is a formulation containing 50 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 20.3 wt% BA, 12.2 wt% NVP, 8.2 wt% PBA, and 9.3 wt% PhA, and the nanocomposite has a viscosity of 18.1cP at 25 ℃.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a 10 micron film on a glass substrate. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.668 at 550 nm.

Another example is nanocomposite G2, which is a formulation containing 59.7 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylates consisting of 16.6 wt% BA, 10.0 wt% NVP, 7.0 wt% PBA, and 6.6 wt% PhA, and the nanocomposite has a viscosity of 42.2cP at 25 ℃.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a film. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.683 at 550 nm.

TABLE 4 Table 4

* All nanocomposites had BYK 378 at 1% by weight of the total formulation

Example 7

The capped ZrO2 nanocrystals used in example 1 were dispersed into the desired monomer blends such as BA, NVP, PBA, STY and/or 4-methylstyrene (4 MS), divinylbenzene (DVB) and 4-vinyl anisole (4 VA) in the same manner as previously described, and organic dopants such as 9-vinylcarbazole (NVCb) were added to form nanocomposite H1-H5. Surfactants such as BYK 333 and dispersants such as FLOWLEN G-700 are optionally added to improve inkjet performance. Preferred capped nanocrystals range from 35 wt% to 60 wt%, BA wt% ranges from 15 wt% to 30 wt%, NVP wt% ranges from 5 wt% to 20 wt%, PBA wt% ranges from 5 wt% to 15 wt%, STY wt% ranges from 10 wt% to 20 wt%, DVB wt% ranges from 10 wt% to 20 wt%, 2-PEA wt% ranges from 2 wt% to 30 wt%, NVCb wt% to 35 wt% relative to monomer content, BYK 333 wt% ranges from 0.01 wt% to 1.0 wt%, and FLOWLen G-700 dispersant wt% ranges from 0.01 wt% to 1.0 wt%. Table 5 shows the composition, formulation viscosity and nanocomposite RI of the various materials with and without the addition of STY, 4MS, DVB, 4VA, 2-PEA and NVCb.

TABLE 5

* All nanocomposites had BYK 333 at 1% by weight of the total formulation

Example 7A

One specific example is nanocomposite H1, which is a formulation containing 47.5 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylate and vinyl monomers consisting of 13.0 wt% BA, 7.9 wt% NVP, 5.2 wt% PBA, 4.8 wt% STY, and 16.0 wt% NVCb, and the nanocomposite has a viscosity of 21.3cP at 25 ℃.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a 10 micron film on a glass substrate. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.690 at 550 nm.

Another specific example is nanocomposite H2, which is a formulation containing 47.5 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylate and vinyl monomer, the blend consisting of 13.0 wt% BA, 7.9 wt% NVP, 5.2 wt% PBA, 4.8 wt% 4MS, and 16.0 wt% NVCb, and the nanocomposite viscosity at 25 ℃ is 18.2cP.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a 10 micron film on a glass substrate. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.692 at 550 nm.

A third example is nanocomposite H4, which is a formulation containing 47.5 wt% capped nanocrystals in a blend of acrylate and vinyl monomer consisting of 13.0 wt% BA, 7.9 wt% NVP, 5.2 wt% PBA, 2.4 wt% STY, 2.4 wt% DVB, and 16.0 wt% NVCb, and the nanocomposite has a viscosity of 20.3cP at 25 ℃.

Irgacure 819 photoinitiator was added to the formulation at 4 wt% (relative to monomer content) and deposited as a 10 micron film on a glass substrate. The film was cured at 1J/cm2 under UV at 385nm and had a refractive index of 1.699 at 550 nm.

Example 8

The capped TiO ₂ nanocrystals having an average particle size of about 10nm (as measured by DLS intensity) as described in the above embodiments were dispersed into the desired monomer such as BA or PBA by direct dispersion such that the desired loading of zirconia in the formulation ranged from 35 wt% to 70 wt%, with the BA or PBA weight percent ranging from 30 wt% to 65 wt%.

One specific example includes dispersing about 10nm of capped TiO2 nanocrystals into a desired monomer blend such as BA or PBA in the same manner as previously described. Table 6 shows the composition, viscosity, formulation RI at 589nm, cured film RI at 550nm, film thickness at 400nm and 700nm, and% T of the nanocomposite I1-I8.

FIG. 10 shows the nanocomposite formulation viscosity versus different weight percent loadings of TiO2 particles in BA and PBA monomers of about 10nm at 25 ℃. For ink jet printable formulations, the preferred range of capped nanocrystals is 40 wt% to 60 wt% and the range of BA wt% is 40 wt% to 60 wt% to provide viscosities approaching 8-30cP. For higher viscosity applications (30-1,000 cp), such as slot die coating or nanoimprinting, higher TiO2 loadings are effective between 40 wt.% and 80 wt.%, whereas the weight percent of PBA ranges from 30 wt.% to 60 wt.%. FIG. 11 shows that the RI of the uncured nanocomposite formulation at 589nm varies between 1.59 and 1.69 when about 10nm of TiO ₂ is dispersed in the BA and PBA monomers. The RI values of the cured nanocomposite films at 550nm are shown in FIG. 12 and range from 1.65 to 1.75.

TABLE 6

Example 9

The capped TiO ₂ nanocrystals having an average particle size of about 30nm (as measured by DLS intensity, core size of about 12-18 nm) as described in the above embodiments were dispersed into the desired monomer such as BA or PBA by direct dispersion such that the desired loading of zirconia in the formulation ranged from 35 wt% to 70 wt%, with the BA or PBA weight percent ranging from 30 wt% to 65 wt%.

One specific example includes dispersing about 30nm of capped TiO2 nanocrystals into a desired monomer blend such as BA or PBA in the same manner as previously described. Table 7 shows the composition, viscosity, formulation RI at 589nm, cured film RI at 550nm, film thickness at 400nm and 700nm, and% T of the nanocomposite J1-J7.

FIG. 10 also shows the nanocomposite formulation viscosity versus different weight percent loadings of TiO2 particles in BA and PBA monomers of about 30nm at 25 ℃. For ink jet printable formulations, the preferred range of capped nanocrystals is 40 wt% to 65 wt% and the range of BA wt% is 35 wt% to 60 wt% to provide viscosities approaching 8-30cP. For higher viscosity applications (30-2000 cP), such as slot die coating or nanoimprinting, higher TiO2 loadings are effective between 40 wt.% and 80 wt.%, whereas the weight percent of PBA ranges from 30 wt.% to 60 wt.%. FIG. 11 also shows that the RI of the uncured nanocomposite formulation at 589nm varies between 1.61 and 1.69 when TiO2 at about 30nm is dispersed in BA and PBA monomers. The RI of the cured nanocomposite films at 550nm is shown in FIG. 12 and ranges from 1.67 to 1.80.

TABLE 7

Example 10

The end-capped TiO ₂ nanocrystals described in the above embodiments were dispersed into the desired monomers such as BA, NVP, and PBA by direct dispersion such that the specific loading of about 30nm TiO ₂ in the formulation at 27.5 wt.% BA, 16.5 wt.% NVP, and 11 wt.% PBA was 45 wt.% to illustrate an example of an inkjet-printable TiO ₂ ink. 17.4cP ink can be printed using a Dimatix ink jet printer at 30℃and 18V without significant nozzle plate wetting being observed. Fig. 15 shows that the% T of the 12 micron film ink jet printed is greater than or equal to 90% at wavelengths above 400 nm. The film RI at 550nm was measured as 1.683.

Example 11

In the same manner as previously described, capped nanocrystals (including ZrO2 and TiO 2) each having a particle size of about 10nm were dispersed in varying proportions in the desired monomer. Table 8 shows the composition, viscosity and film RI (550 nm) data for nanocomposites K1 through K6, containing results from 50 wt% loading of mixed ZrO2 and TiO2 nanocomposites. The lowest RI and viscosity of the ZrO 2-only film (nanocomposite B1 described in example 2) were 1.639 and 9.6cP, respectively. Nanocomposite K3 (similar to nanocomposite I2 described in example 8) represents a TiO 2-only film for comparison, and its film RI and viscosity were 1.695 and 18.7cP, respectively. Other examples of mixed ZrO2/TiO2 nanocomposites show a film RI value of greater than 1.70 for the selected monomer and specific ratio while maintaining a viscosity of less than 30 cP.

TABLE 8

Example 12

The capped nanocrystals (both ZrO ₂ and TiO ₂) were separately dispersed into the desired sulfur-containing commercial resin provided by NTT-AT in the same manner as previously described in PGMEA. The particle size of the TiO ₂ in the nanocomposites L4 to L6 was about 30nm. Table 9 shows the composition of the nanocomposites L1 to L6 and the film RI (550 nm) data comparing the results from ZrO ₂ and TiO ₂ nanocrystals. Nanocomposites L4 to L6 have significantly higher membrane RI values of greater than 1.82.

TABLE 9

Example 13

The capped nanocrystals (both ZrO2 and TiO 2) were separately dispersed to the desired sulfur-containing commercial available from Mitshubishi GAS CHEMICAL Company in the same manner as previously described in PGMEAIn the resin. The particle size of the TiO2 in the nanocomposites L4 to L6 was about 10nm. Table 10 shows the composition of the nanocomposites M1 to M10 and the film RI (550 nm) data comparing the results from ZrO2 and TiO 2. Nanocomposite materials M7 and M8 emphasize in particular the example of films with RI values greater than 1.90.

Table 10

The summary and abstract sections may set forth one or more, but not all exemplary embodiments of the invention as contemplated by the inventors, and are therefore not intended to limit the invention and the appended claims in any way.

The invention has been described above with the aid of functional building blocks illustrating the implementation of specific functions and relationships thereof. The boundaries of these functional building blocks have been arbitrarily defined herein for the convenience of the description. Alternate boundaries may be defined so long as the specified functions and relationships thereof are appropriately performed.

With respect to aspects of the invention described as genera, all individual species are individually considered to be separate aspects of the invention. If aspects of the invention are described as "comprising" a feature, embodiments "consisting of" or "consisting essentially of" the feature are also contemplated.

As used herein, the term "about" modifying an amount in connection with the present invention refers to a numerical quantity change that may occur, for example, through routine testing and handling, through inadvertent errors in such testing and handling, through differences in the manufacture, source, or purity of the ingredients used in the present invention, and the like. As used herein, a "about" a particular value also includes the particular value, for example, about 10% includes 10%. Whether or not modified by the term "about," the claims include equivalents to the listed amounts. In one embodiment, the term "about" means within 20% of the reported numerical value.

Where possible, any term expressed herein in the singular includes the plural of that term unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

It should be understood that wherever an embodiment is described herein by the language "comprising," similar embodiments described by "consisting of and/or" consisting essentially of are also provided. But when used as a transitional phrase in a claim, each phrase should be construed in the appropriate legal and factual context, respectively (e.g., "comprising" is more considered an open phrase, while "consisting of … …" is more exclusive, "consisting essentially of … …" in the middle zone).

The term "and/or" as used in phrases such as "a and/or B" herein is intended to include a and B; a or B; a (alone); and B (alone). Also, the term "and/or" as used in phrases such as "A, B and/or C" is intended to encompass each of the following embodiments: A. b and C; A. b or C; a or C; a or B; b or C; a and C; a and B; b and C; a (alone); b (alone); and C (alone).

The foregoing description of the specific embodiments will so fully reveal the general nature of the invention that others can, by applying knowledge within the skill of the art, readily modify and/or adapt for various applications such specific embodiments without undue experimentation without departing from the general concept of the present invention. Accordingly, such adaptations and modifications are intended to be within the meaning and range of equivalents of the disclosed embodiments, based on the teaching and guidance presented herein. It is to be understood that the phraseology or terminology herein is for the purpose of description and not of limitation, such that the terminology or phraseology of the present specification is to be interpreted by the skilled artisan in light of the teachings and guidance.

The breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

All of the various aspects, embodiments, and options described herein may be combined in any and all variations.

The contents of each of the following applications are incorporated by reference herein in their entirety: 1) U.S. provisional application 62/769,703 filed 11/20/2018; 2) U.S. provisional application 62/892,625 filed on 8.28.2019; and 3) International application PCT/US2019/062439 entitled "SYNTHESIS, CAPPING, ANDDISPERSION OF TiO ₂ NANOCRYSTALS" filed 11/20 a 2019, which claims priority from U.S. provisional applications 62/769,703 and 62/892,625.

In some embodiments, the present disclosure may also exclude any of the embodiments described in U.S. provisional application 62/892,630 filed on 8 th month 28 of 2019.

All publications, patents, and patent applications mentioned in this specification are herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if each individual publication, patent, or patent application was specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference. To the extent that any meaning or definition of a term in this document conflicts with any meaning or definition of the same term in a document incorporated by reference, the meaning or definition assigned to that term in this document shall govern.

Claims

1. A formulation comprising at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals dispersed in a matrix and the matrix, wherein the metal oxide is zirconium oxide, titanium oxide, hafnium oxide, zinc oxide, tantalum oxide, niobium oxide, or a mixture of at least two of the oxides, wherein:

(1) The formulation contains less than 20 wt % solvent, e.g., less than 10 wt % solvent;

(2) the viscosity of the formulation is in the range of 5-1000 cP when measured at 25°C using a Brookfield RVDVII+ cone and plate viscometer;

(3) The matrix comprises propylene monomers (e.g., acrylates, methacrylates) and/or ethylene monomers;

(4) the refractive index of the formulation at 589 nm ranges from 1.52 to 1.94;

(5) the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size range of 1-40 nm as measured by DLS or TEM; and

(6) The at least partially capped metal oxide nanocrystals are capped by at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of silane, carboxylic acid and alcohol.

2. The formulation of claim 1, wherein the at least partially capped nanocrystals have an average particle size range of 1-30 nm as measured by DLS or TEM.

3. The formulation of claim 1, wherein the formulation comprises one or more agents independently selected from the following agents: curing agents, surfactants, wetting agents, antioxidants, tackifiers, leveling agents, dispersants, plasticizers, toughening agents, thickeners, diluents, spreading agents, softeners and organic dopants.

4. The formulation of claim 1, wherein the nanocrystals are at least partially capped with at least one capping agent selected from the group consisting of methyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltrimethoxysilane, n-propyltriethoxysilane, n-octyltrimethoxysilane, n-octyltriethoxysilane, phenyltrimethoxysilane, dodecyltrimethoxysilane, m,p-ethylphenethyltrimethoxysilane, 2-[methoxy(polyethyleneoxy)propyl]trimethoxysilane, methoxy(trivinyloxy)propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-mercaptopropyltrimethoxysilane, 3-(methacryloxy)propyltrimethoxysilane, 3-(acryloxy)propyltrimethoxysilane, 1-(2-methoxyethoxy)- ...

5. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation further comprises monofunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers;

The monofunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers include benzyl acrylate, benzyl methacrylate, ethylene glycol phenyl ether acrylate, ethylene glycol phenyl ether methacrylate, 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl acrylate, 2-hydroxy-3-phenoxypropyl methacrylate, 2-phenoxybenzyl acrylate, biphenyl methacrylate, 2-phenylphenol methacrylate, isobutyl acrylate, 2-phenylethyl acrylate, 2-phenylthioethyl acrylate or a combination thereof.

6. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation further comprises di-, tri-, tetra- and/or pentafunctional acrylate and/or methacrylate monomers.

7. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation further comprises 1,6-hexanediol diacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol dimethacrylate, di(ethylene glycol) diacrylate, di(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate, ethylene glycol diacrylate, 1,3-diglycerol glycol diacrylate, tri(propylene glycol) diacrylate, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate, trimethylolpropane triacrylate, trimethylolpropane ethoxylated triacrylate, trimethylolpropane ethoxylated trimethacrylate, 1,6-hexanediol ethoxylated diacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate, dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate/hexaacrylate, or a combination thereof.

8. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation further comprises a reactive diluent, wherein the weight percentage of the reactive diluent relative to the total monomer content is 10-25 weight %.

9. The formulation of claim 8, wherein the reactive diluent comprises 1-vinyl-2-pyrrolidone, N-vinyl caprolactam, 2-(2-vinyloxyethoxy)ethyl acrylate, 2-(2-vinyloxyethoxy)ethyl methacrylate, isobutyl acrylate, styrene, 4-methylstyrene, 4-vinylanisole or divinylbenzene, phenylnorbornene or a combination thereof.

10. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a di-, tri- and/or tetra-functional thiol crosslinker.

11. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising trimethylolpropane tris(3-mercaptopropionate).

12. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation further comprises a sulfur-containing resin and/or a binder.

13. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation does not contain benzyl methacrylate or trimethylolpropane triacrylate.

14. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation comprises a surfactant or a combination of surfactants, i.e. non-reactive or reactive in the acrylate monomer system, wherein the concentration of the surfactant in the total composition ranges from 0.1 wt% to 2.0 wt%.

15. The formulation according to claim 14, wherein the surfactant is a polyether-modified siloxane, a fluorosurfactant or a combination thereof, and/or the concentration of the surfactant in the total formulation ranges from 0.5 wt% to 1.0 wt%.

16. The formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a curing agent or a photoinitiator, wherein the concentration of the curing agent or the photoinitiator in the total formulation is in the range of 0.1 wt% to 20 wt% relative to the monomer content.

17. The formulation according to claim 16, wherein the curing agent or photoinitiator comprises Irgacure 184, Irgacure 819, TPO, Ebercryl P39 and/or Ebercryl P115; and/or, the concentration of the curing agent or photoinitiator in the total formulation is in the range of 1.0 wt% to 4.0 wt% relative to the monomer content.

18. A formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the viscosity of the formulation is about 5 cP, about 10 cP, about 15 cP, about 20 cP, about 25 cP, about 30 cP, about 40 cP, about 50 cP, about 60 cP, about 75 cP, about 100 cP, about 200 cP, 500 cP or about 1,000 cP when measured with a Brookfield RVDVII+ cone and plate viscometer at 25°C.

19. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the nanocrystal loading is 20-40%, 40-45%, 45-50%, 50-55%, 55-60%, or 60-65%, or 65-70%.

20. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation has a refractive index of 1.52-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82 as measured by an Abbe refractometer at 589 nm.

21. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation has a surface tension in the range of 20-25 dynes/cm, 25-30 dynes/cm, 30-35 dynes/cm or 35-40 dynes/cm when measured with a Rame-Hart surface tensiometer at 25°C.

22. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the formulation has a %T in the visible wavelength range of 400-700 nm of 99%-95%, or 95%-90%, or 90%-85%, or 85%-80%, 80%-75%, or 75%-70%, or 70%-65%, or 65%-60%, or 60%-55%, or 55%-50%, or 50%-45%, or 45%-40%, or 40%-35%, or 35%-30%, or 30%-25%, or 25%-20%, or 20%-15%, or 15%-10%.

23. The formulation of any one of claims 1 to 4 which is inkjet printable.

24. A nanocomposite film prepared by a process comprising applying a formulation according to any one of claims 1 to 23 to a surface by spin coating, slot die coating, screen printing, inkjet printing, nanoimprinting, photopatterning, 3D printing, dip coating, rod coating, roll-to-roll printing, spraying, dispensing, volume casting, screen printing, or any combination thereof, and optionally curing the applied formulation.

25. The nanocomposite film of claim 24, wherein the nanocomposite film has a %T in the visible wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm of 99% to 95%, or 95% to 90%, or 90% to 85%, or 85% to 80%, 80% to 75%, or 75% to 70%, or 70% to 65%, or 65% to 60%, or 60% to 55%, or 55% to 50%, or 50% to 45%, or 45% to 40%, or 40% to 35%, or 35% to 30%, or 30% to 25%, or 25% to 20%, or 20% to 15%, or 15% to 10% at a thickness of less than 10 microns.

26. The nanocomposite film of claim 24, wherein the refractive index of the nanocomposite film at 550 nm is 1.54-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72, or 1.7 2-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, or 1.94-1.96, or 1.96-1.98, or 1.98-2.00.

27. A nanocomposite material comprising a formulation according to any one of 1 to 23, wherein the formulation is cured or partially cured by UV radiation at a UV LED source with a wavelength of 365nm, 385nm, 395nm or 405nm or by a mercury "D" lamp, "H" lamp and/or "V" lamp at a UV dose in the range of 0.1-10J/ ^cm2 .

28. The nanocomposite material of claim 27, wherein the nanocomposite material is a film having a thickness ranging from 50 nanometers to 100 micrometers.

29. A nanocomposite material according to any one of claims 27 to 28, wherein the nanocomposite material has a %T in the visible wavelength range of 400 nm to 700 nm of 99% to 95%, or 95% to 90%, or 90% to 85%, or 85% to 80%, 80% to 75%, or 75% to 70%, or 70% to 65%, or 65% to 60%, or 60% to 55%, or 55% to 50%, or 50% to 45%, or 45% to 40%, or 40% to 35%, or 35% to 30%, or 30% to 25%, or 25% to 20%, or 20% to 15%, or 15% to 10% at a thickness less than 10 microns.

30. The nanocomposite material of any one of claims 27 to 29, wherein the refractive index of the nanocomposite material at 550 nm is 1.54-1.56, 1.56-1.58, 1.58-1.60, 1.60-1.62, or 1.62-1.64, 1.64-1.66, or 1.66-1.68, or 1.68-1.70, or 1.70-1.72. , or 1.72-1.74, or 1.76-1.78, or 1.78-1.80, or 1.80-1.82, or 1.82-1.84, or 1.84-1.86, or 1.86-1.88, or 1.88-1.90, or 1.90-1.92, or 1.92-1.94, or 1.94-1.96, or 1.96-1.98, or 1.98-2.00.